Marine Explorations Find New Jellyfish Species in Mariana Trench

Jellyfish species have been found by marine researchers, which were described as strange, alien-looking creatures. The new species were discovered while doing an exploration in the underwater world that is found under the Earth's deepest ocean trench.

The new jellyfish was seen by the group of scientist at the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration during a Mariana Trench expedition in the Pacific ocean. The newly-discovered creature was caught in a film when it swam near the surface of the ocean close to the research ship of the team, the "Okeanos Explorer," according to  Smithsonian Mag.

These new  jellyfish species have the same features with those of the Crossta genus that are also popular for spending most of their existence gliding through water. The creatures have two sets of long and short tentacles. Researchers are assuming that when the jellyfish is keeping its long tentacles outward while the bell is motionless, it is an indication that it is going to attack.

The discovery supports the fact that there are still so many things about the oceans that people has not explored yet. A proof that it is important to bring into more expeditions like the one being conducted by the Okeanos Explorer. At present, the NOAA researchers are doing some studies on the deep-sea life and geology at the Mariana Archipelago. Among their objectives is to explore the 43-mile wide and 1,500-mile long Marianas Trench, with its deepest point reaching about 7 miles below the surface of the Pacific Ocean.

But according to NOAA, the mining activities being carried out on this portion of the Earth's crust may lead to far-reaching effects on the ecology of the ocean. The agency explained further that the deep sea floor of the Pacific is among the least explored regions of the Earth, and that there is no enough details about the deep-sea animals that may exist beyond the Prime Crust Zone, News Max reported.